Native Place is the name of our holiday home in the hills of western India. It is also home to Nirvana Adventures, a paragliding school, run by my husband. My gardening adventure began in 2003 when we finished building Native Place and moved in. It is an all consuming hobby that I juggle along with paragliding on weekends. During the week I’m back in the city and gardening online

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Sunday, August 28, 2016

Millet and Traditional Cooking Workshop at Native Place with the ' Cooking Pilgrim'

She is passionate about cooking traditional dishes and using fresh organic produce and this sentiment led Latha Sagi to become the Cooking Pilgrim, wandering about the country visiting organic farms where she can harvest fresh local seasonal produce and turn them into into balanced nutritious tasty dishes. She shares her knowledge and her passion with generosity and her ability to feed and to serve led to her being fondly called 'Latha Devi'.

Monday morning 4 excited women arrived at Native Place for a 3 day cookout only to find that the kitchen had been cleared out. It was a classic Oops moment but after an initial shock we settled down and began to see the plus points of cooking on hte tandoor terrace ( temporarily set up as kitchen) the place was a mess but the big bonus was it was like cooking in the outdoors, we had lots of space and great views of the garden. We even had some cheeky bulbuls come by to share a few crumbs.

3 days of popping grains other than corn ( that was a whole bunch of fun) experimenting with various grains and oilseeds and pulses , making dosas , idlis, khichdi, payasams ladoos, a variety of chutneys, cool refreshing and warm beverages. We made use of many ingredients from the garden including flowers, , local grains and oilseed – so much to learn so much to taste – it was a sensory feast..

Our 3 day cooking bonanza did not stay just that – we found time to explore the garden, walk in the rain, visit Palikade, admire wild flowers and wade in the monsoon streams. An idyllic time it was.
Thank you Sneha for organising it all, thank you Latha Sagi for your generosity and warmth , thank you Tejal for your unflagging exuberance and thanks Anushree for finally coming by 
Was a great weekend girls, lets do it again soon

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About Me

I have had an affinity for trees for as long as I can remember. In 2003 Native Place our guesthouse in the hills of western India was completed and that’s when i began hands on gardening.
My brand of gardening is more visualizing mood and creating joyful spaces.
Don’t get me wrong I love getting my hands dirty. I also talk to my plants – no nonsense straight talk is what I call it and I think they like it.
Honestly I don’t see myself as having green fingers and definitely have a long way to go in strict gardening terms but if it involves walking up or down a garden path I am up for it.